The arrest of Bollywood actress Leena Maria Paul by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police on Sunday for allegedly helping her boyfriend Sukesh Chandrasekhar in extorting Rs 200 crore from a businessman’s wife, is learnt to have Hyderabad connections as well.
The police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) Act against Leena Paul, originally a Malayalam actress, who acted in the film 2013-made Bollywood film Madras Café and another hit film Biriyani in the same year.
The arrest follows an FIR registered on August 7 after former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh informed police that a man posing as a senior official of the law Union ministry offered to help her secure bail for her husband, who was in jail at that time in a money laundering case.
Investigation revealed that Leena Paul’s boyfriend Chandrasekhar, an accused in 21 cases, including the Election Commission bribery case, had made the call to Aditi Singh, from Rohini jail, where he was lodged and running an extortion racket from the jail.
Inquiries revealed that Leena Paul has a link with a similar extortion case in Hyderabad in connection with a Central Bureau of Investigation case against former Telugu Desam Party MP from Narsaraopet Rayapati Sambasiva Rao.
It may be recalled that the CBI had filed a case against Rayapati for alleged bank fraud, after conducting a series of raids on his residence and offices in January 2020.
Days after the CBI raids, two people who identified themselves as CBI officers approached him for a bribe in order to bail him out of the case.
The two people – Manivardhan Reddy from Hyderabad and Selvam Ramaraj from Madurai, were later arrested by the CBI.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the duo had approached Rayapati at the behest of Leena Maria Paul and Sukesh Chandrasekar, who had a conspiracy to extort money from Rayapati.
It is not immediately known whether Rayapati had paid them any bribe or not, but the CBI had busted the racket. It also issued lookout notice for her but could not catch her.
The latest statement from the Delhi police said they had arrested two associates of Chandrasekhar who had operated for him from outside the Rohini prison, besides two prison officials who helped him.
During the course of investigation, the police had found that a manager of a bank in Connaught Place and his two associates were involved in the dubious transactions for circulation of funds and arrangement of cash.